Horror in anime comes in many different shapes and sizes. While the medium isn’t known for having many amazing series that are flat out pure horror, there are many many great series that contain heavy horror elements to compliment everything else. So today let's list some of those amazing anime!
15. Gantz
Gantz 2004 trailer
Kei Kurono wishes death was just the end. When he’s killed, he finds himself in a brutal game forced to survive alongside others as they fight unknown aliens. Gore and violence are just the surface of this grueling anime that has a lot to say about humans and morality. Be warned, it’s not for the faint of heart.
Kei just wants to survive. With so much death around him, that is his top priority.
Gantz is one of those series you either hate or love. While there’s no denying there are some great themes below this edgy, dark piece of work. Those themes do get buried by just how overly dark this show can get. Do a bit of research before diving into this one, but there is definitely something enjoyable here.
14. Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied trailer
Enter the tale of Lucy. A special born human with horns and invisible telekinetic hands. A government experiment for so long, she finds a moment to escape. Murdering almost everyone in her path. An injury she sustained during her escape causes a split in her personality. One a docile girl, the other a broken, powerful murder. She finds refuge in the home of Kouta and his cousin Yuka. As their relationship begins to grow, so does the danger of Lucy and a grand government conspiracy.
Lucy just wants to be free and a bit of revenge, but mostly free. It’s an admirable goal that is very relatable and when you mix that with Kouta, who just wants the best for her. You get two very compelling main characters that are easy to root for.
I very much enjoyed Elfen Lied. It can be a bit heavy with the gore but it’s very well animated, the characters are great, and the music is great as well. With it only being 13 episodes, the time investment isn’t too much, and the story is worth the watch.
13. Another
Another trailer
There’s a curse that has surrounded the students of class 3-3 for years. An ominous omen that no one dares talk about. When transfer student Kouicchi returns to class after having fallen ill, he finds himself allured by a mysterious doll like girl in his class, Mei. The other students of class 3-3 warn him not to befriend people who aren’t alive. A mystery starts to brew. Is Mei real? Is she alive? What is this mysterious curse that starts to wreak havoc on the students of Yomiyama North.
Kouichi is a good main character to follow. We follow him as he tries to understand this mysterious curse and also gets to know Mei better. As everything unravels and he begins to question things he does and doesn’t know, it’s fun to see it unravel.
This is a perfect horror anime. One of the many that actually tries to scare the viewer through more than just gore. From the beginning to the end of this 13 episode run, the ominous tone holds up very well. There are some genuinely great scare here and the story is pretty good as well.
12. Akira
Akira trailer
After WWIII was set in motion by a young powerful psychic who ravaged through Japan in 1988, it's now 2019. Enter Neo Tokyo. A post-apocalyptic dystopian version of Tokyo full of motorcycle gang violence and terrorism. When two rival gangs get into a battle, one of the gang members Tetsuo gets into an accident with an escaped psychic and soon begins to develop psychic powers of his own. The government seeks to capture him to prevent another catastrophe, and his friend Shoutarou desperately seeks him out to save him.
Shoutarou’s goal is to rescue his friend who is quickly transforming and falling captive to his own new growing powers. It's a very noble goal.
Akira is a classic. Its themes run rampant and are still very applicable to a lot of things today. But even more than that, it will stand the test of time as being one of the coolest anime ever with one of the most iconic scenes in history period. With a 2 hour run time, it's a great movie to watch.
11. Danganronpa
Danganronpa: The Animation trailer
Kill a class-mate without being discovered is the name of the game. A group of elite high schoolers are accepted into Hope Academy on false pretenses and thrown into this mysterious game of life or death
Makoto Neigi is our main character who we’re thrust into this mystery with. Seeing his character develop and his deduction skills go into action as the series progresses and he navigates this crazy scenario is very cool. He’s just trying to survive.
This is a very fun mystery. Again, it comes in at just 13 episodes. It's paced well, it can get very absurd, but the tension of the mystery never breaks.
10. Tokyo Ghoul Root A
Tokyo Ghoul Root A trailer
The second season of Tokyo Ghoul. After escaping grueling torture, Kaneki joins Aogiri Tree (his own captors). While his friends worry about him, the tension between the government and acting Ghoul bodies starts to rise.
On the surface, this season Kaneki is a very different person than the last. It’s very interesting to see how his traumatic experiences have led him to accept his ghoul nature and in that, as the season unravels we learn more about his mysterious personal goals.
While not as good as season one and a solid deviation from the source material. Root A is still worth a watch just for the visuals alone. This is a stunning anime that holds the creepy, gorey tone of the first season while telling a story that is still pretty interesting in its own right.
9. Deadman Wonderland
Deadman Wonderland trailer
Ganta’s normal life gets turned on its head when one day a mysterious man in red slaughters his entire classroom and he is blamed for it all. Now sentenced to death and placed in prison with a lethal collar placed around his neck, that timer is slowed by winning the prison's games. He must discover the mystery of the red man, while also fighting for his life.
Ganta’s goal is to survive and figure out who framed him and why they did so. There's a very interesting mystery here for him to uncover.
I enjoyed Deadman Wonderland. There's a cool mystery here and as things get deeper there’s also a very cool power system in place. Ganta is a good character but the supporting cast is very very strong here. Just for them, the cool powers, and the music, this is worth a watch.
8. Berserk (1997)
Berserk 1997 trailer
A young mercenary named Guts travels the lands accepting the highest paying job possible. This leads him to crossing paths with the infamous Band of the Falcons and their leader Griffith. Soon he becomes a commander with the group as they become even stronger and something sinister looms in the shadows.
Guts’ main goal is to survive. When he joins the Band of the Falcon, his goals become entwined with the members of the group that he comes to cherish. Which makes him more human, for better or for worse.Berserk (1997) is still the best adaptation of this all-time great manga series. Everything still holds up to this day. The story of Guts and Griffith is iconic, it is tragic, and it is worth the watch.
7. Tokyo Ghoul
Tokyo Ghoul trailer
Rumors loom about flesh-eating “ghouls” that unsuspiciously roam the streets of Tokyo. When reserved, college student Ken Kaneki goes out on a first date with Rize. He comes in contact with one of these ghouls leaving him unconscious and on the brink of death. When he awakes, something is different. Normal food doesn't taste good to him at all. He can’t even keep it down. One of his eyes is different and he now has a taste for flesh.
Kaneki just wants to live normally as he’s thrust into this world of ghouls who all have their different goals and groups they pertain to. He desperately tries to maintain his humanity but struggles as more and more of the ghoul inside him surfaces.
Tokyo Ghoul is one of the best anime ever to me. The opening performed by TK is iconic, the animation is stellar, and the story is enthralling. This first season is the best of the entire anime adaptation, and from start to finish it is a blast.
6. Hellsing Ultimate
Hellsing Ultimate trailer
There’s an evil that lurks in the night. For the safety of the people, there are forces that fight against that evil. Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing leads her army under the Hellsing name to fight these evil forces or vampires. While her forces are large, she has one powerful weapon stronger than them all. The vampire Alucard, who fights against his own kind.
Integra and Alucard are here to fight vampires as there is an ever-growing threat coming to the surface. Along the way, we get a glimpse into their complex relationship.
This anime is dark, gritty, and a good watch. Alucard and Integra’s relationship is a good driver to this vampire-slaying romp.
5. Perfect Blue
Perfect Blue trailer
A former pop star decides that life isn't for her anymore. She wants more. She wants to be a great actress. So she takes up a role in a crime drama that quickly becomes degrading. While she struggles with her decisions and how to move forward, a crazed super fan begins to stalk her.
Mima is the star of the show. Below the surface, her dream is very relatable. She wants to change the direction of her career and her life, but sometimes what comes with that is very harsh obstacles.
Perfect Blue is a great horror. Once the tension starts it never ends as we the viewers become just as paranoid and afraid as Mima. It takes something special to elicit that from the audience and Perfect Blue does that amazingly.
4. Devilman Crybaby
Devilman Crybaby trailer
In a world where devils exist and can take over the bodies of people. Ryuo Asuka asks his kind friend Akira Fuduo to hunt devils with him. They’re hunting ground is Sabbath. A club full of devils and degeneracy. Their hunt turns into a blood bath and while Akira attempts to save his friend he ends up merging with the devil Amon. A powerful devil. While he becomes as powerful and his physical appearance starts to change, at his heart he’s still a crybaby.
Akira is just a kind soul caught up in an evil world. All he wants to do is protect the people he cares about and with his newfound power, he can.
I absolutely love Devilman Crybaby. The art style is unique and stunning. The soundtrack is amazing and the relationships that Akira builds and how he grows is really endearing and quickly tragic. It's a story about a kind soul in an evil world.
3. Dorohedoro
Dorohedoro trailer
Caiman is a humanoid reptile with memory issues who lives in the decrepit, dark, seedy pit of a district called the Hole. A place below the high society of magic users who dump their experiments and unwanted people into the pitts of the Hole. Discarded like they were nothing. Together, with his friend Nikiado, Caiman searches for answers to his past and lost memories.
Caiman just wants to get his memories back. They constantly gnaw at him, he knows something is missing, just not what.
Dorohedoro is a pure blast. The world is gruesome, gorey, dark, gritty, but fun. Especially the characters we get introduced to along the way. Dorohedoro has its horror elements, but more than anything, it's a blast.
2. Shinsekai Yori
Shinsekai Yori trailer
In a world that was ravaged by a mass psychic awakening, now people live in a small society. Saki Watanabe finally awakens her abilities and joins her fellow friends in the academy for physics. As the years progress they grow older, she begins to question the society, and the friend group begins to come of age and grow into their supposed roles in this society. They begin to get involved with secrets of their society that unravel and change them as a whole.
Saki is a complex character and we see her grow up as the series progresses. From a preteen to a grown woman. She experiences and finds the truth of the society she lives in which changes her perspective on everything.
Shinekai Yori is a masterpiece in storytelling and the coming-of-age trope. Seeing Saki and her friends discover more about their world as they grow older, form bonds and relationships with each other, and more is amazing. When it comes to horror, there are scary elements early and late in the series, but what will get you is the terrifying things that are more subtle.
1. Parasyte
Parasyte trailer
Parasitic aliens begin to descend upon Earth. Burrowing into their host and taking over their bodies. They’re able to morph into a multitude of forms to catch their prey. Young Shinichi successfully stops a parasite from taking over his body fully, instead, it's just his right hand. Now with an alien named Migi as a right hand and an alien invasion in full effect, Shinichi must navigate it all.
Shinichi wants to live. He is very aware of the rapidly growing situation that is this alien invasion. As a character, he begins to change physically and mentally as his internal and external bond with Migi grows.
Another masterpiece in storytelling. Parasyte is phenomenal. The story is one of a kind. It is very character driven and as much as its horror elements may shock and scare you, its more emotional elements will pull at your heart strings. Shinichi and Migi are a fabulous duo and this anime is a must-watch.
